The Chamber of Commerce met at the fairgrounds on Thursday to conduct a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the newly renovated fair barn and hold an open house for public viewing of this year’s county fair exhibits.
Fred Brown Jr., spoke at the fair barn ribbon cutting ceremony,
The president of the fair barn, Fred Brown, Jr., spoke first. “This is the 65th year since we incorporated, if my math is right,” he said.
Wallace Taylor, county judge-executive, also spoke, pointing out that the basis of this country is agriculture.
“I appreciate so much the volunteers who work hard to bring something like this to our community,” he said.
For Earl Brandenburg’s family, serving on the Estill County Fair Board has been a way of life.
Brandenburg has been on the board for 40 years. His wife Javene, is also a long-term member, as are his daughters, Sonja and Missy.
Brandenburg’s son-in-law, Teddy Hunt, has served as fair board president too. Earl said Teddy and Missy played a big role in getting the grant which paid for the air-conditioning to be installed.
Two-year old, Haden Brown listens closely as his father speaks.
Brandenburg has seen a lot of other changes over the years at the fair grounds.
“I thought the horse people were going to hang me,” he laughed, as he told about their reaction to the idea of putting the center pavilion on runners so it could be moved during truck pulls and other events.
Although the change was resisted, the idea caught on, and the pavilion has been mobile for many years.
One thing that has not changed is that Fred Brown, Sr. still serves on the fair board. He is the only one who has been a part of it since the organization began 65 years ago, and he still serves in an advisory capacity.
According to a July 29,1999 article in the Citizen Voice and Times commemorating the 50th anniversary of the Estill County Fair, the fair began as a Lion’s Club event.
Brown was one of the veterans who helped build the fair barn through a program for farm education, similar to the GI bill.
Some notable acts have performed at the fairgrounds over the years, one of whom was Loretta Lynn. She came to Irvine in the 60’s and drew a large crowd.
Bobby Carol Noland has been a long-term member on the fair board for many years and was the first woman president of the organization. She has also worked with the beauty pageants for many years.